A.When we write letters, our salutation is placed at
the end of the letter: “With love,” “Sincerely,” etc.

B.Letters in the first century had
the salutation at the beginning of the letter. The recipients immediately knew
who wrote the letter to them.

C.In tonight’s lesson, we want to
look at Paul’s salutation in I Thessalonians.

1.Robertson: “This salutation is
brief, but rich and glorious and pitches the letter at once on a higher plane”
(e-sword, Robertson’s Word Pictures).

2.The salutation is composed of
one verse (I Thess. 1:1).

Paul, and
Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God
the Father, and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from
God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3.This verse contains three
sections that will study in this lesson.

I.THE CONCERNED

A.The letter is from three men:
Paul, Silvanus, and Timotheus.

1.Paul is the actual author of the
book.

2.One of the other two men may
have been the amanuensis, that is, the scribe who dictated Paul’s words.

3.All three of these men helped to
establish the church in Thessalonica on Paul’s second missionary journey (Acts
17:1-10, 15).

B.A brief overview of each man.

1.Paul

a.A Jew and a Roman citizen by
birth (Acts 22:28)

b.A Pharisee (Acts 23:6; Phil. 3:5)

c.Trained by Gamaliel (Acts 22:3)

d.Persecuted the church (Acts 9:1;
Phil. 3:6)

e.Witnessed the resurrected Christ
on the Damascus highway (Acts 9:4-6; I Cor. 15:8).

f.Converted to Christianity and
became a preacher and an apostle of Jesus Christ, especially to the Gentiles
(II Cor. 11:5; 12:11; Gal. 2:7).

2.Silvanus

a.Better known as Silas, meaning
“woody.”

b.He was a Jew and a Roman citizen
(Acts 16:37).

c.He was one of the chief men of
the church in Jerusalem (Acts 15:20).

d.He went to Antioch following the
Jerusalem conference. He was one who took letters back to the Gentiles
churches with regard to the decision about circumcision and the Law of Moses
(Acts 15:22).

e.He became Paul’s travelling companion
on the second missionary journey (Acts 15:40).

3.Timothy

a.Resident of Lystra (Acts 16:1)

b.Probably converted to
Christianity when Paul went through Lystra on his first missionary journey
(Acts 14:6, 8).

c.His mother was a Jew and his
father was a Greek (Acts 16:1).

d.He joined with Paul on the
second missionary journey (Acts 16:3).

e.Paul wrote two letters of the New
Testament to Timothy that bear his name.

f.His name means: “dear to God”
or “honoring God.”

g.He was a man who naturally cared
for his brothers and sisters in Christ (Phil. 2:20).

C.There men traveled together on
two long journeys spreading the good news of Jesus Christ and establishing
churches in various locales.

1.They were friends and
co-workers.

2.Some of the qualities they had
to possess: faith, concern for the lost, courage, labor, integrity, sacrifice,
and endurance.

D.NOTE: Paul does not use the
word “apostle” to describe himself.

1.He did not have to establish his
authority with this church.

2.It was a mark of the
affectionate relationship that he had with this congregation.

II.THE CONGREGATION

A.Their designation: “the church”

1.The word “church” comes from the
Greek word “ekklesia.”

a.Strong (1577): a calling out

b.Thayer: those who anywhere, in
a city, village constitute such a company and are united in one body

2.They had been called out of the
world by the gospel of Christ (II Thess. 2:14).

Whereunto he
called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus
Christ.

a.Acts 17:2-3 gives us some
insight into Paul’s preaching.

And Paul, as he
manner was, went in unto them, and three days reasoned with them out of the
scriptures, opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and
risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is
Christ.

b.The Thessalonians received the
Word of God (I Thess. 2:13), and believed in the Christ (Acts 17:5).

3.To become members of the church,
their belief moved them to be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins (Acts
2:47; Mark 16:16; I Cor. 12:13).

For by one Spirit
are we all baptized into one body.

B.Their physical location: “of
the Thessalonians”

1.The church was established in
the seaport city of Macedonia called Thessalonica.

a.A city of Greeks, Romans, and
Jews.

b.A city of commerce and trade.

c.A city given to idolatry.

2.The makeup of the church (Acts
17:4)

And some of them
believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great
multitude, and of the chief women not a few.

C.Their spiritual location:
“which is in God the Father, and in the Lord Jesus Christ”

1.They were now part of a group of
people that were established, marked out, and in fellowship with God the Father
and His Son, Jesus Christ.

2.The boundaries of this group are
established by the doctrine of Christ (II John 9b).

…He that abideth
in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.

III.THE CACHE OF BLESSINGS

A.Paul wishes two gifts upon the
Thessalonian Christians.

1.Grace

a.Most will define the term as
“favor.”

b.I prefer the definition of
“help.”

c.Even after becoming Christians,
we still need help and assistance from God: strength, protection, boldness,
and forgiveness.

2.Peace

a.Thayer: the tranquil state of a
soul assured of its salvation through Christ and so fearing nothing from God
and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is.

b.It is a peace that Satan attacks
on a daily basis.

c.When it is possessed in its
fullness, it is a peace that passes understanding (Phil. 4:7).

B.The givers of these blessings
are “God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

1.These are divine gifts.

2.They are good and perfect gifts
(James 1:17).

3.They are needed and useful
gifts.

4.They are spiritual and enduring
gifts.

CONCLUSION

A.A few lessons:

1.Common men, just like us,
preached the Word of God and established churches throughout the world in the
first century.

2.A church existed in the first
century and was familiar with words such as “Paul,” “in God, “in the Lord Jesus
Christ, “church,” “grace,” and “peace.”

3.Paul’s Christology shines in the
words: Lord Jesus Christ.

a.Lord: Master, Sovereign,
Superior

b.Jesus: the personal name of
Christ meaning “one who saves”

c.Christ: the Messiah, the
anointed one of God

4.The churches of the first
century needed divine grace and peace just like we do today.

B.In many ways, this church is
much like we are today.

1.The words of this epistle
applied to them.

2.Because we are like them, we can
take these words and make application to our lives as well.